


Your Secrets and Lies (Buried Deep Inside)

by WildeChild17



Series: not your ordinary family [10]
Category: Metal Fight Beyblade | Beyblade Metal Saga
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Chris works for the wbba: change my mind, Past Rape/Non-con, bao and aguma are bros with chris, uhh what are tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:40:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26887495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildeChild17/pseuds/WildeChild17
Summary: Being a Blader for hire wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Chris knows that. So does his sister, Christina, but... one of them carries secrets darker than the other. When their past comes back to haunt them, it'll take their wits and their skills to come out of it alive, as well as with the help of some expected and unexpected allies.(Set 4 years after Metal Fury).
Relationships: Aguma & Bao (Metal Fight Beyblade), Chris and Oc, OC/Aguma (Metal Fight Beyblade), OC/Bao (Metal Fight Beyblade)
Series: not your ordinary family [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589986
Comments: 7
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

Chris woke up slowly, with a pounding head and ringing in his ears. His eyes burned, and he peeled them open slowly, only to lift his hand to shade them against the florescent lights shining down on him. The action caused a jingle to fill his ears, and his attention was brought to the metal cuff on his wrist, a chain hanging from it. He blinked at the sight, briefly confused by it, before his memory came back to him.

He’d been given a new assignment. He’d been given intel on an underground black market, dealing in the kidnapping of Bladers and trafficking them to employers who forced them to work for them. It was the exact opposite of being a Blader for hire- instead, Bladers were forced to work for their employers, without the freedom of leaving. The problem was, there was no idea on who the buyers were, since they were keeping their identities secret. Every time the American WBBA intercepted the traffickers, they got the missing Bladers, but the hired hands. Not once had the agency managed to get their hands on the ones in charge.

Chris had been assigned because of his history. His superiors seemed to think he might have some sort of insight on to what they were missing, and had told him to do whatever it took to get the job done, even if it meant going undercover. Chris had followed lead after lead, digging up more information that had the original investigators hadn’t managed to find. They’d been right. His former occupation helped him to find the pattern in locations, of when and where the auctions popped up. He’d gone in as a prospective buyer, hoping to get a look at the inner workings of the events…

He’d been burned at his third meeting with the auctioneer. That much he remembered. What had followed next was a beating unlike one he’d experienced before, his gear and Orion stripped from his body and he’d been outmatched ten to one. He’d passed out in the middle of it all.

_Fuck_ , Chris grimaced as he sat up. Now that he was moving, his entire body felt like on massive bruise. Gingerly, he took stock in his person, making note of his injuries. His left ankle hurt when he put weight on it, but it wasn’t broken, thankfully. His right arm though, was a different story. It was swollen, black and purple and felt broken. He took a few deep breaths and went through his mental check. His chest crackled, broken ribs. If he had a punctured lung, he’d be coughing up blood, and that hadn’t happened yet. His head was still throbbing, and the lights hurt his eyes, so he more than likely had a concussion.

Hm. He wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Not in his physical condition.

Chris took stock in the room. Ten by ten, four concrete walls and a heavy metal door opposite of the bed he sat on. The bed was a metal frame, bolted to the concrete floor. There was a toilet, sink, and mirror on the wall to his right, and a table and chair to his left. Nothing else, in terms of furnishings. Chris’ eyes flickered around the room and caught sight of the camera in the ceiling in the upper left corner of the room. He ground his teeth in annoyance, watching the red-light blink periodically.

So he was being watched. Just for the dramatics of it all, he flipped the camera off, before flopping backwards to stretch out on the bed, running through his next actions. He was just thinking of how he could reset and brace his arm when the metal door clanked, and then creaked open. Chris didn’t move, just stared at the ceiling.

“You had better manners the last time we saw each other, Mister Cadelle,” A male voice spoke.

Chris closed his eyes and sighed, “Kaleb McClain. It’s been a while.” He sat up to sit and face his present company, “What do I owe the pleasure of seeing you again?”

His voice made it clear he did not think it was a pleasure.

Kaleb smiled at him, showing off too perfect, too white teeth. He hadn’t changed at all from the last time Chris had seen him. No, his blue eyes still glittered with malicious intent, and his smile was too sharp, and his hair was still too perfect, and clothing perfectly in order. Everything about him screamed, to the trained eye, ‘too perfect’.

“Would you allow my doctor to check over your arm. I’m afraid my men were a bit too enthusiastic in subduing you,” Kaleb gestured to the woman in the white coat standing just behind his right shoulder. Likewise, his tone of voice suggested Chris didn’t have a choice.

“… Fine,” Chris relented, and at Kaleb’s nod, the doctor stepped forward. The set to work on Chris’ arm, rolling the sleeve of Chris’ blazer up to begin her poking and prodding at it. Chris grit his teeth and bore the pain, keeping his eyes Kaleb.

“I’m sure you’re wondering where you are, and why you’re here, Mister Cadelle,” Kaleb eventually spoke again. “To be completely honest, you were an unexpected variable in my plans, but a welcome one, now that you’re here.”

Chris kept his expression carefully neutral. Kaleb was talking, and that was good. He could get intel this way. Something that might be able to help him, “That a fact?”

Kaleb smiled, the look causing Chris’ insides to squirm. He forced himself still, twitching as the doctor checked his hand’s functions, “No nerve damage, Mister Cadelle. I think it’s just dislocated.”

Chris hummed in response. At least someone was being somewhat civil. Chris didn’t trust Kaleb as far as he could throw him.

“It is. See, let me tell you a little story, Mister Cadelle. Do you remember when you tore up the contract you had with me?” Kaleb asked, and his pause was meaningful.

Chris narrowed his eyes, “Yes. I remember. I told you I wasn’t going to be a part of your illegal activities. My reason was valid, and you didn’t seem to have a problem with it.”

“At the time, I didn’t,” Kaleb admitted. “But your departure kickstarted a chain of events that I’m hoping to get paid back for.”

“That a fact?” Chris drawled. He grimaced as the doctor took his arm and reset his wrist. She murmured an apology.

“It is a fact. You see, not but a few weeks after you went on your way, another Blader for hire came along, someone with all the same skills you have, someone who had more skills than you have, and someone who had a more ruthless streak than you do,” Kaleb continued his tale. “I was very impressed with them, and so, I hired them. At the time, I didn’t realize that they were searching for something…” Kaleb’s eyes narrowed, his face cold, “Searching for _you_ , Christopher.”

Chris swallowed. Kaleb’s lips curled into a smirk.

“Who do you think it was, Christopher? Who was my employee?”

Chris didn’t answer. He didn’t want to.

“It was your sister, Christopher. Christina Cadelle!” Kaleb laughed and threw his arms out to his sides, “I thought I had hit the jackpot when I hired her! She was everything you weren’t! She was ruthless, carried out her orders without question! I was so ecstatic to have her as an employee! She rose through the ranks, faster than you could have, but that was because she was so efficient. She listened, and she did the deeds I asked her too. It was perfect…” Kaleb’s amusement faded, “Too perfect. I should have known something was going to go wrong.”

The doctor was wrapping Chris’ arm now. Chris didn’t pay her any mind, keeping his eyes on Kaleb.

“She was fine with carrying out my orders, Christopher. She even _killed_. Did you know she has blood on her hands? She’s a wonderful sniper, but I guess that comes with her upbringing. Best shot in the state of Alabama and even further, isn’t that right? Who would have thought she’d use those skills for crimes?” Kaleb shook his head, “No, it was when I introduced her into what you were investigating, Christopher—”

“The black-market auctions of the kidnapped Bladers,” Chris said, realization sparking. “She said no, didn’t she? She didn’t want to get involved in the destruction of innocent lives.”

Kaleb sneered, “Right in one. But she didn’t say no, Christopher. She played me and played me well. She stayed compliant, but because she had risen through the ranks, she had access that, at the time, I didn’t think much about. She was selling information behind my back. One by one, the locations of the sales were being given to the cops and WBBA, and I had no idea how! That was, until I caught your sister in the act. And then, like a fool, she tried to fight her way out.”

The doctor was fitting Chris with a brace, now. Chris kept his attention on Kaleb and kept his face blank. With every word he was speaking, Kaleb was spilling more useful information than he realized.

“So you know what I did, Christopher?” Kaleb’s voice dropped, and Chris forced himself to stay calm. Kaleb was preparing to dig underneath his victim’s skin, try to set him off so he would react, “Once she figured out she couldn’t get away, once I had her locked away, I decided that I would… reprogram her, so to speak.” He leaned close, and Chris forced himself not to lean away, holding his breath, “I set my men on her, Christopher. Let them have their way with her. Fastest way to break a woman is take away any semblance of who she is.”

Chris closed his eyes and counted to ten. When he opened them, Kaleb had leaned back and was smirking at him, like a cat that caught the canary.

Feigning indifference, Chris drawled, “What makes you think she hasn’t already told me all of this?”

Kaleb blinked, surprise morphing to anger, “Your reaction states otherwise, Christopher. There’s no way you knew—”

“I know,” Chris stood up slowly. “I know what you did to my sister. I know what she’s done, and I know she’s not proud of it. And I also know that if you try to get any sort of revenge on her for what she _rightfully_ did, that I will make your world a living hell. You thought Christina was your worst nightmare… You’ve never seen my bad side.”

“And how do you expect to do anything?!” Kaleb snapped back, “You’re chained to the wall like a dog! You’re under twenty-four-seven surveillance, locked six times over behind a metal door with armed guards standing outside! You wouldn’t make it out of here alive!”

“You have no clue what I’m capable of, Kaleb,” Chris stalked forwards, only stopping when the cuff on his arm tugged at him. He’d crossed three quarters of the distance of the room, forcing Kaleb to step backwards to stay out of his reach. Good. Good to know the bastard standing in front of Chris was still a coward at heart, “You only saw half of what I could do. More than likely, everything you saw out of Christina was only a fraction of what she’s _capable_ of.”

Kaleb sneered at him and adjusted the cuffs of his jacket. Before he could open his mouth, Chris continued to speak.

“Not to mention, what makes you think that Christina won’t get suspicious when she doesn’t hear from me?” Chris asked him.

At that, Kaleb seemed to regain his confidence, smirking, and standing straight, “What makes you think we haven’t been keeping an eye on you since you left our ranks, Christopher? Someone close to you who is just as close to Christina and can throw her off our trail?”

Chris didn’t answer. He glared harder at Kaleb.

“Or that we don’t have someone keeping an eye on your precious twin sister?” Kaleb leaned forward, getting into Chris’ personal space. Chris wouldn’t be cowed, he stood his ground, “Now, Christopher, you’re here. You’re with me. Your sister is out there, and… all it takes is one word for my people to bring her in. But… I am a reasonable man. Instead of getting my revenge on her, I have a job offer for you instead. It keeps her safe, and I’m sure, as a brother, that’s something you would _die_ to do, yes?”

Chris twitched, eyes narrowing.

“I’ll let you think on it for a while. You say yes, Christina stays alive and well. You even get to leave, once I’m done with you,” Kaleb motioned to the doctor, and she left the room. He stepped backwards, into the hallway and well out of Chris’ reach, “You say no… Well. I make no guarantees about either one of yours safety.”

He smirked, and that was the last thing Chris saw before the door slammed shut, leaving the blonde alone to his thoughts. For extra measure, the lights dimmed, nearly plunging the room into pitch black. Chris stared at the door for just a moment, before huffing a soft laugh and shaking his head. He turned around and sat back down on the bed, before stretching out and closing his eyes.

He would say yes to Kaleb’s deal. Just to play his game. If Kaleb was one thing, he was easy to please. Chris could do that, and he could do it easily, while at the same time just slightly manipulating him to his own advantages.

Still, he had a point though. If everything Kaleb said about how tight his security was, Chris wouldn’t get out easily, if alive. He’d have to be patient, and wait for the right moment, or hope for some outside interference.

But Kaleb had a flaw, too. He spoke too much when he got cocky or emotional. Chris had already manipulated him into giving up a lot of valuable information. He had eyes on Chris and Christina for a while now. Supposedly, his people were someone the siblings trusted, and that list was a short one.

There was also the matter of how long Chris had been missing to begin with. He had no idea how long he’d been unconscious before waking up, but he hoped- he _prayed_ \- it was longer than twenty-four hours. He’d been careful to not mention it, and he’d succeeded, but he and Christina had a system if Chris was to go on any undercover mission of any sort. A simple coded text from a burner phone he kept hidden, just to let her know he was still alive. If more than twenty-four hours passed and she didn’t hear a word from him…

She would have cause to start worrying and start searching.

It was a paranoid way of life, but it worked for them. They had both gained a lot of enemies over their time as Bladers for hire, so they had reasons to be careful.

Except now… their shared past seemed to be coming after both of them… One more than the other.

Chris opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling, thoughts running rampant. He, very truthfully, knew very little about Christina’s own history, so to hear this about her now from one of her former employers… It made his very blood boil, over what had happened to her, but things made _sense_ now- her own caution, her paranoia, and her _nightmares_. He’d thought they were about Nyx or Nemesis, but what if they were also about her jobs? Kaleb had said she had blood on her hands… was she reliving her crimes?

Chris sighed and closed his eyes again. It would do him no good to think about the what if’s.

Sleep came, but it wasn’t restful.


	2. Chapter Two

Christina Cadelle had never been happier to get her mid-terms done and pack up for fall break. She had a feeling that her current state of mind might had altered her grades on her tests, but she couldn’t give a damn about them. Not when it had been nearly three days since she’d last heard from her brother.

“Easy, girl!” Christina startled, whirling around from where she was throwing clothes into her suitcase, to see her roommate, Alyssa Gunner, lounging on her own bed and watching the blonde with amusement, “You seem excited to get to Washington. You ready to see your brother that much?”

Christina hid a wince, and offered the brunette a small smile, “Actually, I’m going back home to Alabama. My brother is busy with work and said his current case load didn’t offer much time to spend with me. Plus, he’s saving his vacation time for Christmas…”

_Lies_. Chris always made time for his sister, even if he was dead on his feet and overworked. He waved it off every time Christina tried to get him to just rest, saying he was fine, but Christina knew damn well it was his guilt complex eating at him. Ever since Beyster Island, Christina knew that he was beating himself for ever leaving home in the first place.

He’d left and become a Blader for hire because his friends had abandoned him. Because he was _feared_ , instead of respected. In doing so, he had forgotten that there was someone who could meet him blow for blow and had always looked up to him.

Christina had become a Blader for hire to follow her brother, to not only try and talk sense into him, but to get him to see that he had someone in his corner. The inevitable confrontation had happened on Beyster Island, where Christina had shown her hand and been beaten and betrayed again. It had only been after Nemesis, when Christina had dragged herself to Metal City and had consequentially fallen to her own injuries, that things changed. Chris had been there when she woke up in the hospital, and he didn’t leave her side but for moments at a time.

It’d been a difficult time, the recovery after Nemesis. There had been a few stumbles, and obstacles to figure out, but they figured it out. And then, when Nyx had happened…

Well. Chris was a stubborn son of a bitch when he put his mind to it. Steady and stubborn as Orion, wearing his opponent down by just being silent and waiting for an order. He’d wanted to be on that helicopter to Crete, to stand by his sister in the final battle, and not only had he got what he wanted, but he’d dragged Bao Blackheart, Wales Reynolds, Nile Storm, Ryuga Katashi, Kyoya Tategami, and Julian Konzern into it as well.

Well. Christina couldn’t say she didn’t respect him for it. And the extra help had been nice, in the end.

Christina shook the thoughts off, as Alyssa spoke, “Oh, well that’s too bad. I know you’ve been looking forward to seeing your brother again. Give your parents your love for me, yeah darlin’?”

“You bet,” Christina nodded, as she gathered her bags. “See ya in week, Alyssa!”

With that, Christina was out the door and down the hall. She forced herself to walk, to not draw attention to herself. She had to stay calm, it would do no good for her to panic and freak out. Out in front of the college dorms, there was a bus, and people stacking up students’ bags into the loading area.

Christina set hers down and waited until they were packed away and then boarded the bus, her messenger bag swung over her shoulder. Once she had a seat towards the front of the bus, she dug her headphones out and plugged them into her phone and put the earbuds into her ears. She leaned her forehead against the glass cool glass window, watching the other college students mill around in the parking lot, watching them chatter happily with their friends, and in some cases, family that had come to pick them up for fall break.

Christina couldn’t fight back the dread rising in her throat. It’d been three days since she’d last heard from Chris. He was supposed to send her a message every day, when he was working undercover assignments, unless it was to tell her that something had gone wrong or he was done with the case entirely. But when Christina had realized that the twenty-four hour mark had passed, and she hadn’t heard from him…

Well. She started to worry. She’d given him the benefit of the doubt, thought maybe that he had forgotten…

But three days. Almost four days later, and still no word. They were well out of the territory of ‘just forgetting’ and thrown right into the middle of ‘something’s happened’. Christina wasn’t sure what had happened, wasn’t even sure about what Chris’ case was, but she knew where to start to find out.

Still, she wasn’t sure what it was that would await her, if she went to Washington. She’d already called her parents and told them she was coming back to Alabama for the fall break, and she really did want to see them. Heavens knew they didn’t see her enough, but on the other hand… She was loyal to a fault to her brother, and she knew her parents needed to know if something had happened to Chris. And she knew they would ask about him, why she wasn’t sticking to the original plan of going to Washington to spend break with her brother, when they had all decided that Thanksgiving and Christmas would be spent at their home.

She needed to tell them something, and she had cause for legitimate concern, but at the same time she didn’t know what the cause was for said concern. All she knew was that whatever case Chris had been working for the WBBA had now been the cause for his silence. She could access Chris’ apartment, and she could probably find his work, but she wasn’t an agent. She would only have so much access—

Wait. Christina sat up as a thought occurred to her.

She knew someone, someone she trusted who she could ask to help where she couldn’t get to. Quickly, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, taking note of the time. Five pm. Perfect. She’d just be getting up…

Christina navigated to her contacts and quickly found the number she was looking for. She paused her music, pulled her earbuds out, and hit the call button.

The line rang six times, before it clicked and picked up.

“It is my day off, so whoever this is had better have a damn good explanation as to why you’re calling…”

Christina couldn’t help but smile, “Hey, KB.”

There was a pause, and Christina heard the rustling of cloth in the background, “Christina? Nice to hear from you and all, but this is kind of out nowhere.”

Christina chewed on her lower lip, “You said it was your day off? I don’t want to intrude, I really don’t, but…”

“Is there another world ending catastrophe happening?” Kuro asked, sounding tired. In the background, Christina heard a groan, a male voice say something like ‘ _not another one_ ’.

“… I don’t think so, but…” Christina sighed, “I… Kuro, something’s happened to Chris.”

“Chris?” Kuro’s voice turned serious, “What about him?”

“I haven’t heard from him in a while,” Christina started to explain. “We… we have a system, when he goes on potentially dangerous assignments, and he hasn’t stuck to it in about four days.”

Kuro inhaled sharply, “So why are you calling me?”

“If his sudden silence is case related, I can’t get involved. I’m not an agent,” Christina said. “I mean, anything I find at his place, I’d have to turn over to his superiors.”

“But because I’m a WBBA agent, I can get my hands on said files and work it,” Kuro realized. “And… you want me to work it?”

“I want to work it,” Christina said, softly.

“… That’s illegal,” Kuro deadpanned.

“… Since when has that stopped you from helping someone in need? Last I checked, you and I both have done some unsavory things for the greater good.” Unseen, Christina smirked, “Last I checked, Johannes was still in a coma.”

“…”

“…”

“Fair enough,” Kuro sighed. “Alright. What do you want me to do?”

In quiet tones, as the bus pulled away from the University of Georgia, Christina laid out her plan, and prayed that Kuro would follow through with it.

By the time Christina was dropped off at the airport, she felt a lot calmer than she had hours before, especially secure in the knowledge that she had help coming her way.

* * *

“Isn’t this considered breaking and entering?”

“It’s not… if I know where to find the key,” A tan hand reached up to trace the uppermost part of the doorframe, before finding the slight niche against the wall. With a slight cracking, the woman pulled the wood and plaster back, and a silver key dropped from hidden slot in the wall.

Kuro Blackheart grinned and caught the key, replacing the doorframe with a firm pat. She glanced to her left, smiling at the man beside her, “Chris is good… Christina knows him.”

Aguma Ji, Legendary Blader of Saturn, sighed and rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, “Well then, wise girl, after you.”

Kuro inserted the key into the lock, and turned it. The door clicked open, and the two stepped in front hallway of Chris’ apartment. It was slightly chilly and Kuro wrapped her leather jacket tighter around her body as she turned to the security system. She was quick to put in the code to stop the alarm from sounding, as Aguma stepped in behind her and shut the door. He flicked a switch, and lights came on over their head.

“Well, let’s start searching,” Kuro mused.

“For the record, I still say we should have brought Bao with us,” Aguma said, as the two moved silently through the living room. It was decorated nicely, with a white circular couch that surrounded a coffee table, facing a large flat screen tv on the wall. Aguma let out a low whistle, “What’s the pay grade for an American WBBA agent?”

“I think he uses some of his family money too,” Kuro pointed out, browsing the wooden bookcase behind couch. “Huh. Wouldn’t take Chris for a Lovecraftian fan.” She was flipping through the books, “And in response to your question, if Bao was here, he’d get in legal trouble. We’re agents. He’s not. Remember?”

“Yeah, but Chris is his friend too, and Christina, like it or not, is the girl he loves,” Aguma’s voice carried from further in the apartment. “Uh, Kuro? I think you’d better come take a look at this.”

Kuro sighed, and turned around to follow her boyfriend’s voice. She found him, standing in the middle of an office that looked like a tornado had been through it, “Ookay, someone was here and someone wasn’t happy.”

“Clearly,” Aguma said, flatly. “And more than likely, they got everything that we came for, too.”

“Maybe not,” Kuro sighed. “Let’s split up and search the whole place. Maybe whoever it was missed something we can use.” Kuro turned on her heel and walked across the hallway, pushing open the door to the bedroom. This one too, was turned upside down, with the closet and dressers thrown open and clothes scattered everywhere, “I’m beginning to think Christina is right about Chris being in trouble.”

“You think?” Aguma called back, sarcastic.

Kuro glanced around the room, before shaking her head and continuing down the hall. She opened another door, to find another bedroom. This one had Christina written all over it, with trophies of horse events on shelves. On one wall, a quilt made of ribbons hung over a bed, which was decorated in tones of green and brown.

Kuro sighed, marveling at how this room was untouched, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a look around. She glanced at the books, unsurprised to see most of them on history or horses. Christina was predictable that way. Kuro turned on the lamp sitting on the desk, pushed up underneath the window, and sat down in the chair. Most of the papers Kuro found were random sketches or writings, nothing too important, but when Kuro turned to the drawers…

A leather bound journal sat underneath a slew of pencils and markers, wrapped tightly in black cord. Kuro only hesitated a moment, debating if it was something of Christina’s or Chris’, before opening it to find out. The first page was blank, but the second wasn’t.

_Well, Chris says that if I don’t want to talk, I should write about my thoughts. So, here goes nothing… I’m not a good person. In fact, some might say I’m a monster. I’ve destroyed people’s lives… hurt people, some innocent, some not… I’ve even got some blood on my hands—_

Kuro shut the book, and tucked it away in her jacket. If nothing else, she figured that she should give it to Christina, lest risking the chance that someone came back to see if they had missed anything and found this. As she turned back to shut the drawer, her golden eyes caught sight of a knothole in the corner of the drawer. She rose an eyebrow at that, and probed at it, only partially surprised to find that it was in fact a false panel. She lifted, and pushed the art supplies back to uncover what was beneath the panel.

Jackpot.

Files. Thick files, marked with sticker notes. Kuro pulled them out and let the false bottom fall back closed. There were several files, each nearly an inch thick, and when Kuro opened the first one, she was greeted with coded, handwritten papers in Chris’ handwriting.

“Damn, blondie,” Kuro muttered, flipping through the papers to try and make sense of the code. “Paranoid much?”

Unfortunately, Kuro understood it, both from her own past and current career as a WBBA agent. With a sigh, she picked the files up, and tucked them away into her jacket, zipping it up. Form fitting as the garment was, she had no worries about them falling out. She stood up, pushed the chair back in, and shut the light off.

“Aguma,” Kuro poked her head in the office. “Find anything?”

“Nothing,” Aguma sighed. “You?”

“I think Chris was expecting to be ambushed,” Kuro admitted. “He hid the files in Christina’s room and has them in code, too.”

Aguma’s eyebrows went up, but he only nodded in acceptance, “Unsurprising. Well, if you think you got what we need…”

Kuro jerked her head, “Yeah. Let’s go.”

As quietly as they had come, Kuro and Aguma were gone.

* * *

“Oh, it’s so lovely that Christina has invited her friends over for the week!” Mrs. Cadelle was an energetic woman, with blonde hair just a few shades lighter than her children’s, streaked gray. She was dressed in a dark red pantsuit with a cream dress shirt, with cream colored pumps to match. She wore minimal jewelry and makeup, her own natural beauty enough to stop any man in his tracks.

Kuro would admit, she saw where the twins got their looks from. She smiled at the older woman, holding her hand out to shake, only for it to be bypassed and she was swept up in a hug, “Uh, Mrs. Cadelle—”

“None of that now, Kuro dear,” The woman tutted. “You call me Mary-Anne, Mary, or Anne. If I can get your brother to call me that, you should too.”

Behind Kuro, the black and silver haired woman heard Aguma snicker, trying to hide it in a cough. Mary-Anne released Kuro and advanced on Aguma. A startled look crossed the brunette’s face and he tried to wave the woman off, but Mary-Anne would not be deterred. She swept Aguma up into a hug, despite being nearly a foot shorter and tiny in comparison.

Kuro smirked at her boyfriend, who looked just a bit awkward. He seemed to deflate in relief when Mary-Anne released him. She adjusted the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder, and waited for Mary-Anne to speak.

“Moving on now,” Mary-Anne turned and began to walk down the hallway. “Follow me, now, dears. Christina and Bao are waiting in the library.”

Kuro blinked, and snapped her head around, “Wait. What? Bao?” She rushed to catch up to the older woman.

Mary-Anne’s lips quirked up in amusement, as she glanced at Kuro, “Yes, dear. Your brother showed up here just this morning, saying he’d been sent on ahead by you two.” She looked Kuro up and down, amusement becoming even more palpable, “But I’d guess, from your reaction, that isn’t the case.”

“I’m gonna kill that little rat,” Kuro muttered.

“I told you we should have just brought him along, but _noo_ , you didn’t listen,” Aguma sighed, catching up to the two women.

“If you don’t stop with that, I will smack you,” Kuro glared at the brunette, but Aguma just cocked an eyebrow at her in a silent dare. Kuro growled and snapped her teeth at him. Aguma rolled his eyes at her.

Mary-Anne giggled at their antics, “You two are adorable.” She sighed and shook her head dreamily, before becoming serious, “Ah. Here we are.”

The trio had come to a halt in front of a set of large, wooden double doors. With a hum, Mary-Anne pushed them open, revealing on the other side, a room made of floor to ceiling bookshelves, with a fireplace and mantle across from the doors. Said fireplace was roaring with a fire, the room warm and feeling all together homey. The floor was carpet, and the room was scattered with tastefully muted chairs and couches of dark red color, and dark wood tables.

Aguma let out a low whistle, “This place is gorgeous.”

“Thanks,” A voice said above them. The looked to their left just in time to see Christina come sliding down a ladder and then land gracefully on the floor without a sound, “This is where I spent most of my time when I was a kid, if I wasn’t in the barns.”

Kuro grinned, and swept her friend into a tight hug, “Hey, blondie, there you are. How you doing?”

Christina hugged the raven haired woman back, her grip bone-crushingly tight. There was a slight tremor in her shoulders, an unfortunate indicator of how hard she was trying to stay calm. Kuro hugged her even tighter and sighed as Christina finally stepped away. Christina’s eyes were dull of any emotion, and dark bags hung under eyes.

“I’ve been better,” Christina admitted, quietly.

“We’ll fix this, don’t worry, CC,” Kuro murmured. “You’ve got us now…” She trailed off, as behind her, there was a scuffle of noise, hissed voices, and then silence, “ _All_ of us.”

Kuro turned and glared at Aguma. Aguma adopted an innocent look, arms crossed over his chest and a perfectly still. Kuro cocked an eyebrow and jerked her head. With a sigh, Aguma stepped to the side, revealing Bao standing behind him.

“Traitor,” Bao deadpanned in Aguma’s direction.

“I’d rather not sleep on the couch,” Aguma shot back.

“Screw you,”

“Not my type, thank you,”

“Boys,” Kuro placed her hands on her hips and stared them both down. Both froze under her golden eyed stare, “Bao.”

Bao winced, and looked up at his sister from under his bangs, “I couldn’t not stay in China! Chris is my friend and Christina’s my girlfriend! What would you do if it were Aguma and me in this situation?”

Kuro sighed and closed her eyes, praying for patience. She counted to five, opened her eyes, and gave her brother a look, “If I say there’s something you can’t do, you don’t do it. You get told to do something, you do it. You stay out of trouble, and most importantly, _you listen to me_ , understand?”

Bao nodded rapidly, “Yep, yes, absolutely.”

“Good,” Kuro sighed.

Mary-Anne cleared her throat, bringing the quad’s attention to her. With a small smile, she said, “I can see there’s something I’m missing, something business related. Christina, is everything alright?”

Christina hesitated, not meeting her mother’s eyes. Eventually, she sighed and lifted her head, jaw set, “Chris is missing, and my friends are here to help me find him.”

Mary-Anne blinked at her daughter. She was silent for a moment, before she nodded, “Let me know if your father and I can do anything to help. We have… some connections, if the situation calls for it.” Then, she was smiling, the look of the mother bear gone, and said, “In the meantime, I’ll have Kuro and Aguma’s bags taken to their room and send for some refreshments and snacks to be brought here. Dinner is at seven, so do try not to be late.”

With that, the matriarch of the Cadelle household turned on her heel and walked out, the doors sliding shut behind her.

Christina turned to Kuro, “What’d you find?”

Kuro swung her bag off her shoulder and made her way to a nearby table, “First of all… do you know how to translate Chris’ codes?"


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So we're dragging in more characters!
> 
> Also, fair warning for implications of torture. Sorry blondie.

It only took a few hours for Christina to translate Chris’ entire stack of files. It seemed, every few minutes, Christina was handing off a newly translated page to Kuro, and Kuro was steadily beginning to wonder what the hell else her friend was hiding from her.

_A former life of borderline crime, she knows her way around a gun and knife, situational awareness, and knows code. It’s like she’s some sort of top-secret government agent_ , Kuro thought, a mix of amused and bitter. _I’ll never admit this out loud, but Blondie scares me._

“I can hear your gears turning,” Aguma muttered. “What are you thinking about?”

“How great of an agent Christina would be if she decided to work for the WBBA,” Kuro snorted. She taped up the next page of intel on the board that Mary-Anne had graciously provided. “I mean, look at this. Chris’ notes are all long hand, even in code, but Christina translates it into shorthand. Every person has a different style of shorthand too, and yet… I understand hers.”

Aguma tilted his head to regard the papers, “Hm. I mean, I can see why she’d be a great asset, but… Kuro. Don’t you think that’s exactly why she’s not become an agent?”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, Kuro, the answer should be obvious. Why wouldn’t Christina want to be an agent?”

Kuro frowned, thoughtful. Then, her expression cleared, and twisted into one of regret, “Ah. Yeah. Christina’s done being bossed around. She had enough of that in her Blader for hire days.”

A curse caught the duo’s attention, and they turned around to face Christina.

“Hey, Blondie, you okay?” Kuro called over, hopping off the table she sitting on, to stride across the room, “Find something?”

“I… I don’t know. Maybe?” Christina chewed on her lower lip, clicking her pen and surveying the papers in front of her, “… It’s more of a pattern I recognize than anything.”

“A pattern?” Aguma asked, “What kind of pattern?”

Christina glanced up, then away, clicking the pen a bit more sporadically.

“Hey, Aguma, why don’t you go find Bao and bring him back here?” Kuro nudged the brunette, “We can discuss this with everyone here.”

“Sure thing. Back in a minute,” Aguma was smart, in more ways than one, and Kuro would forever be grateful he had one of the keenest senses of situational awareness. He gave her a barely there nod, and then left the library with a quick wave of his hand.

Kuro turned back to Christina, leaning against the table, “Alright, CC… what’s wrong?”

Christina leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest defensively, “… Do you remember how we met, Kuro?”

Kuro blinked at the younger woman, “What sort of question is that? Of course I do…”

_Kuro wasn’t sure what she expected when she decided to visit Las Vegas on a whim, but it certainly wasn’t being tackled from above._

_The sound of glass shattering and screams were what first alerted her to something was going on. Kuro’s head snapped just in time to see a blue of blonde and black come flying towards her, before Kuro was eating the pavement._

_“Motherfuck—” Kuro started, enraged and on the defensive. She threw off the girl who’d landed on her, and climbed to her feet. Then, with a snarl, she struck like a snake and grabbed the collar of the blonde’s shirt, “What the fucking fuck do you think you’re fucking doing you goddamn fucking—”_

_Kuro faltered, and took in the younger woman. The blonde’s purple-gray eyes were clouded over, like she wasn’t even there. Her face was pale, and there was blood running down her right temple, lip, and from her left eyebrow. She had one hand on Kuro’s wrist, the other held close to her body at an awkward angle. The hand on Kuro’s wrist trembled a bit, and Kuro felt a bit of bile rise up in her throat when she saw **she was missing her fingernails.**_

_Ah, fuck, Kuro thought. This kid has been through hell, and I was fixing to cold cock her._

_“Excuse me, ma’am,” Running footsteps had Kuro looking up to see three men come running out of the building, dressed in security uniforms. Under her touch, Kuro felt the blonde flinch, heard a barely audible whimper, “But that young lady is in our custody. She attempted to steal from our company.”_

_He held up a wallet with a badge, and Kuro rolled her eyes. She adjusted her grip on the blonde, shifting her so she was holding the girl up against her, her arm securely wrapped around her waist and her other hand shifting to the knife handle that was visible against her thigh._

_“First off, you flashed that fake badge in my face,” Kuro drew her knife and pressed the tip of it into the guy’s neck. “Second of all, this girl doesn’t look like she’s been in anyone’s **custody** , but rather like she’s been put through seven different types of torture and then some. Third of all, if the actual cops get here, and I’m sure they’ve already been called—” Faintly, Kuro could hear sirens “—Do you really want to try to spin this same fake ass story to them?”_

_There was a moment of tense stand off, before the lead man sneered at her, and then turned on his heel. He and his friends disappeared into the crowd. With a slight pout, Kuro sheathed her knife, adjusted her grip on Blondie, and then disappeared into a nearby alley before the cops could show up._

“… yeah,” Christina flinched. “Anyways. The people I was with when you found me—” Christina cleared her throat, “… I turned against my employer, and he got his hands on me before I could skip town.”

“What’s this got to do with patterns?” Kuro asked.

“… The Bladers going missing are high risk victims, in a sense,” Christina said, tapping her pen against the list of those missing. “Their parents don’t report them missing within the forty eight hour mark because they’re used to them running away, being in the wrong crowd, etcetera… Kaleb McClain targeted those people because of it, but he had a system… ones that showed potential, as powerful Bladers he could employ as members of his company, or that he could see for a high profit.”

“… And you worked for him. What’d he have you do?” Kuro said, realizing the pattern.

“… Hurt people, at first. More of a mercenary than a Blader for hire,” Christina spoke, voice low. “Up until he introduced me to his main operations. The kidnapping and training of those kidnapped Bladers. For a while, I played along, even though Chris had moved on months before—I just, couldn’t let it go. Even with all that I had done for him, it just felt so much worse to train those kids or kidnap them, Kuro…”

“What’d you do to fix it?”

“I dropped tips to the cops and WBBA agents, had them bust up sells and put kids in protection if I knew the ID of a potential candidate. I was so close to being able to give everything to them, one night, when he caught me in the middle of downloading everything I needed,” Christina took a shaky breath. “I tried to fight my way out, I did, really, but… there were too many for me to try and fight, even with Artemis at my side…”

Christina faltered, her bangs shadowing her face.

Kuro pressed her lips together, and reached out to the younger woman, brushing her bangs out of her face, and pressing her hand against her forehead, “Hey. I don’t need to know the full story. Just know that now you have us here with you, and none of us are going to judge. We’re here to help.”

Christina swallowed, and pulled away from Kuro’s grip, “I know. I just… I haven’t ever told anyone about this… not even Chris.”

“And you don’t have to tell anyone, not until you’re ready, alright?” Kuro said, gently.

“…” Christina only nodded in response.

“Now,” Kuro straightened up. “But your game face on. The boys will be back any minute and we’ve got to tell them we’ve got a lead.”

* * *

“I hope, whoever you are, knows what time it is. It’s three in the morning—Kyoya Tategami I swear to Ra if it’s you, I’m going to get on the next flight to Metal City and fucking teach her a normal sleep schedule if it kills me—”

“Hey. Queen Nef,” Nefertiti blinked sleep out of her eyes at the voice that greeted her.

“Kuro? What the fuck?” Nefertiti groaned.

“Christina hasn’t had a chance to call you, and frankly, I don’t think she will, but I figured you should know,” Kuro sighed.

“Hm? Tell me what? Can’t it wait till a more reasonable hour?” Nefertiti let her head fall on the pillow.

“A reasonable hour for you means an unreasonable hour for us,” Kuro sighed again. “Nefertiti, I really shouldn’t tell you this, protocol and all, but as Bao says I don’t follow protocol all the time anyways. And, he’s right, and he’s already involved anyways, so—”

“You’re rambling and I’m ready to pass out. I was up for twenty-eight hours before I finally crashed, like, four hours ago, Kuro, get to the point,” Nefertiti was quickly losing her patience.

“Chris is missing,” Kuro said in a rush of breath.

Well that _woke_ Nefertiti up, “What.”

“Roughly a week now,” Kuro said. “Minus a day or two, maybe.”

“…”

“… Nef, you still there?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m here. Where you at now?”

“Bao, Aguma, and I are at the Cadelle mansion right now. Christina’s on fall break from Uni, right now, so she’s got a week to focus on this before going back to classes,” Kuro answered, and there was an underlying emotion of… something, in Kuro’s voice.

“… Right. In that case, I’m getting on the next flight to Alabama,” Nefertiti sat up, throwing the covers off her bed. “You wouldn’t have called me if you didn’t expect this response, and we both know it. Who else have you called?”

“Just you,” Kuro replied, sounding just a touch amused.

“Right,” Nefertiti sighed. “…”

“Honestly, if I wanted to deal with him, I would call him too. He’s a WBBA agent, and can help. Plus… He’s Chris’ friend too,” Kuro paused. “Both of them are.”

“Yeah. I’ll give Kyoya a call, see if he wants on board with this too,” Nefertiti huffed. “My guess is, yes.”

“I’ll leave you to it. Call me when you land,” Kuro hung up, and Nefertiti only paused to hit speed dial for another number. As Nefertiti expected, the line picked up on the fourth ring.

“Why the hell are you up at three in the morning, Nef? Make it fast, I’m late for work,” Kyoya answered in a rush. Then, “Kakeru, hurry it up! You’ve got class in thirty minutes!”

“Kyoya,” Nefertiti swallowed, sudden anxiety and fear overwhelming her. “… Kyoya.”

“… Nefertiti? You alright? You don’t sound too good,” Kyoya asked.

“I… No,” Nefertiti sighed. “Kuro just called… Chris has gone missing. About a week, according to Kuro. She and Aguma are already in Alabama, working the case. I guess, Christina called them in or something? She had to have, because she and Chris have a system, he told me about it and—”

“Nef, Nef, Nefertiti, hey, I need you to take a breath,” Kyoya interrupted her spiel. “Chris is missing?”

“… That’s what I was told,”

“Have they got any leads?”

“… Kuro didn’t say it, but they might,”

Kyoya inhaled, then exhaled sharply, “Right… Right. And let me guess, you’re booking a flight?”

“Yes. As soon as I get off the phone with you,”

“Right. Got it. Alright. You’ll beat me to where they’re staying,” Kyoya mumbled. “I got to get a few things in order, but we’ll be there.”

“We?”

“You think you can tell me this and that I’m not going to drag Ryuga fucking Katashi into his? Fucker won’t admit it till his dying breath, but he cares too, and if I don’t tell him, he’ll come himself and won’t be happy,” Kyoya scoffed. “No, I’ll text you the details when I got them.”

With that, Kyoya hung up, and Nefertiti was left to start gathering her things.

She had a plane to catch.

**Author's Note:**

> this is a rewrite of an old fic I had over on fanfiction, and a bit darker than the original. so please, keep in mind the tags and as they update.


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